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The Tale of Relnor the Coward
When he was hale and hearty, when he supped and drank besides us, none would have called Relnor a coward. He was Loyal, he was a Beloved Son of Skarsind and of Wintermark, a womaniser, frequenter of brothels and a soldier. He was a follower of the Virtue of Courage, how then can we call him a Coward now? We, who were his friends. We who were his family. We who were his Hall. Fear comes in many forms, even the bravest of us may be beset by it and bring it upon ourselves. Let me then tell you the Tale of Relnor the Coward. Relnor was born within the Banner Hall of Leoding before Skarsind ever fell, before Sigehold ever formed. Leoding fell with Skarsind though and it became a rag-tag group led by the three brothers, Laughing Wulfric, Jussi and Iron Osric. Relnor had sworn his fealty to them as had his family to theirs for generations. But Skarsind fell to the Thule and the Banner Hall of Leoding joined a resistance band led by Striking Ardith. Even as Relnor fought the terrible Thule; even as the resistance band aided the armies of the Empire in reclaiming Skarsind; even as the three brothers Leoding swore their loyalty to Sigehold which Ardith formed; in his heart Relnor stayed true to his first oath. Soon two of the three brothers were cut down as was Ardith and Iron Osric, the youngest of the Leoding banner was made Thane of Sigehold. And so Relnor came to Anvil, he had fought bravely to free his homeland from occupation, he had fought loyally at the sides of his comrades new and old, he had done all of this and yet when he met with the Krampus upon that first Winter Solstice in Anvil he stumbled over his words, nervous at being new, and the Krampus cursed him. Relnor heard the words that 'he would never die a hero's death' and they burnt into his soul. He searched and searched for the Krampus coin that would alleviate his curse, he turned aside the counsel of the Crows hearing their words as from them who looked down upon him, feeling, as he had in front of the Krampus, that he was a child in their eyes. And all he could think of was the second half of the curse and fear he was condemned to walk the labyrinth as a coward, never reaching the end. It was the Goosewhisper that caused him to run from the counsel of the Crows to that of the Winter Mages. Goosewhisper that made him believe that he had died and that some eternal had his body. For curses, if they are not learned from are lived and Relnor's curse had him scrabbling about the Mark like the child that he feared himself to be. It was the Saker with their Winter Magics that gave Relnor the feeling he was looking for, the feeling that he was strong and powerful and not one step closer to death. He saw others cursed across the Mark finding coins to cure themselves but for himself nothing, he had barely searched, feeling the fear rise within himself when he did so, prefering the strength that the Mages gave him. One day they gave him a Grim Legionary to fight with his unit. His awe knew no bounds at what he saw; Troops brought back with incredible strength and unable to die. He asked questions in the darkness, whispered questions, what would it mean to be chosen by Kaela? What would it mean for his soul? His fears pushed him to the path of trickery, of avoiding the curse rather than learning from it, not allowing his Courage to find a foothold, to step out of the darkness and reclaim who he was. Iron Osric, his Thane, found Relnor a curse coin in the posession of three children. He took Relnor to them, to persuade them of his worth and he spoke to them; “I don’t want to die and leave my friends to fight without me. I don’t want to die an old man in my bed alone and not on the battlefield. I want to die defending our homeland and do so with valor” He spoke with truth in his heart, and was rewarded. But he spoke as a child to children and he revealed his fear to himself, though he would not let himself feel it. Relnor became a coward in that moment, for though he showed himself his fear he would not look upon it, would not face it, would not learn from the curse that the Krampus had placed. Perhaps he could have done with time but the world is full of shifts and changes and Skarsind, his homeland, was gifted to the Imperial Orcs. Those he had fought with, those he had sworn to make a home with fell around him, and though he moved with his Thane to Hahnmark his heart stayed behind, trapped within that first oath and Skarsind. He did not look to marry, he did not look to start a family, although in Liissa's brothel both Giste and Marta had had hopes of him. He stayed in the brothel and in his cups when he was not fighting and spoke often of his demons. Of the darkness that the Krampus and the Gifting had left him with. But he did not speak of the fear and he did not seek the Crows only the women who sold a form of comfort for the body and a short-lived type of Mirth. He made another oath when it became clear that Osric and Elsa would marry, that he would stand proudly besides his Thane and bring them Purebright flowers as was his custom at a wedding. But on this he would be forsworn. When word came to Sigehold that Dogri Thulesbane stood firm upon Crows Ridge and would not leave Relnor was heartened. When word came that the Empire was displeased Relnor was heartened to hear of his hero. When word came that the Cruel Armies of Varushka would be sent in assault upon Crow's Ridge then Relnor felt shame and anger. For an army sent to take down a hero within Skarsind, a hero to whom Relnor had given the banner of Leoding this did not set well with Relnor. The Empire did not sit well with Relnor. And even then, so close to his most fearful action, Relnor might have been named Courageous, he might have been named Loyal, he might have over come his fear. But he was not and he did not. It was in darkness that he left Sigehold Hall, without the fellows of his unit, blackening his shield with others of the Mark he crept to Crow's Ridge to try to hold back the tide. But the Varushkans were too many and too strong and when the walls fell Relnor fled even as others fled to avoid the enemy. He was wounded and blood flowed hard upon the snow. He had not learnt from the Crows, from his Curse, he fastened even as he first had upon the final words of the Krampus and saw his shield blackened to hide his treachery, his sword red with the blood of the Empire's soldiers and that final piece of Skarsind lost to Wintermark. He knew himself to be forsworn for he would not be there to protect the last Thane of Leoding, the Thane of Sigehold. It was then that he saw the Winter Regio, there on the edge of the forest, covered in snow. And just as he always had he found comfort in magic. The snow in the regio became red with his blood. The smoke from Crow's Ridge rose into the air and the captured led away by the Varushkans to face trial. He would be an oathbreaker in the Labyrinth his fear told him. He would die unheorically and traverse the labyrinth forever. He stepped into the Regio and he made his oath to Kaela, to forgo death and to be a member of the legion. In the cold, dark embrace of Kaela, just as much a creature of Winter Magics as the Krampus is, Relnor fulfilled his curse, he would never die the death of a hero for he would never die. When Osric and Elsa married Relnor did not bring the Purebright and all of Sigehold knew him to be forsworn and feared him to be dead. They searched for him then, at Crow's Keep; Iron Osric, Faolan and Lissa but they did not find him, finding only a Winter Regio filled with frozen blood. It was much later that he came back to them after waiting in Kaela's Halls to be brought back to fight besides his Thane, Iron Osric, his first oath the only one he let himself keep. For he is Relnor the Coward and he will never, never die a hero.